The present invention relates to waveguides, and more particularly it relates to waveguides for radio frequency doors and frames.
Medical facilities, laboratories, and other facilities may have specially constructed rooms that are used for conducting procedures or operating equipment that is sensitive to environmental radio frequency interference. These rooms can be used for magnetic resonance imaging or other applications where environmental radio frequencies could impede performance of the equipment. Generally, these specially constructed rooms are designed to prevent or attenuate environmental radio frequency interference from entering or leaving the room. Environmental radio frequency interference can come from any number of sources, such as television and radio signals, power equipment, monitors, fluorescent lights, computers, other medical equipment, and the like.
Part of the specialized construction for these rooms includes special doors and door frames that are designed to prevent or attenuate environmental frequencies from entering or leaving these rooms. Typically, these types of doors and door frames do not contain any apertures or penetrations that could allow electromagnetic radiation to leak into or out of the room and are provided with a gasket positioned between the door and the door frame such that a seal is formed that prevents or attenuates radio frequency transmission from passing between the door and the door frame.
In some situations, the radio frequency door may need to be closed when a patient is inside the room. For example, the patient may require certain test procedures (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging). When the patient is ill, the patient may be connected to medical equipment, intravenous (IV) lines, or other conduits. At times, the medical equipment and supporting stations (e.g., carts, IV stands, etc.) remain outside the room during the procedure. Thus, the patient may need to be disconnected from the medical equipment, IV lines, and other conduits before the radio frequency door may be closed. This is undesirable in most cases because, for example, the medical equipment may be performing life sustaining functions or the IV lines may be providing medication to the patient.